‘Mipnei Darkhei Shalom’: Resisting Together While in Disagreement
May 11, 2025
Resisting tyranny together does not mean that we agree about everything.
Rabbi James Greene is a 2008 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is the immediate past president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. Over his two-decade career in the Jewish community, he has served organizations in Massachusetts, Connecticut, California, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Greene was part of Hadar’s 2022 JJGI Fellowship for Rabbis and Senior Educators, as well as a member of the inaugural cohort of the Mandel Foundation’s Executive Leadership Program designed to support rising leaders of Jewish institutions in sharpening their vision for their communities and organizations. He has held executive leadership positions at Jewish Community Centers and Jewish camps, and now serves as the chief executive officer at Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts.
Resisting tyranny together does not mean that we agree about everything.
There is work to do, lives are at stake and our ancestors are depending on us to carry forward the legacy of accountability to this sacred obligation.
With tenderness and love, we should encourage our community to confront the idea of chosenness and release it as no longer serving us well.
Reading a sacred text can put it on your heart, and then when your heart breaks, the holy words fall inside.
Towards leadership models for Jewish communal leadership that empower at all levels and lifts up the unique expertise of leaders, regardless of hierarchy.
How can we serve Jews interested in Jewish values and customs who are unwilling to enter a synagogue?
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
